Help! I accidentally slammed my wife’s ring finger with the lid of the center console of her 2002 Jaguar XJ. That force, combined with her jerking her hand back, dislodged her engagement diamond from it’s setting.
The diamond is nowhere to be found, even after disassembling the center console. I was filled with dread when I saw there are several deep holes leading down into the carr’s mechanicals.
I’m thinking of renting a fiber opttic scope, but at $400 a day that’s a tough decision vs. taking it to the dealer to remove the seats, etc. What dou you think?
“We took it all apart, but didn’t find anything.”
When they say that, you’ll always wonder…
I think you should do it yourself. Strangers tend to believe “finders, keepers.”
BTW, you can buy a Ridgid See-Snake electronic borescope in the mid 200 dollar range. It’s about 5/8" diameter at the head. Not exactly what they do arthroscopic surgery with.
Remember that the more that you drive this car the further it will become lodged deeper in the car, if not shaken out on the road. If it’s an expensive stone, I’d park it and take it apart piece by piece (the car) until I found it. One more thing . . check your insurance, vehicle and homeowners . . it might be covered. Rocketman
When something is dropped, it can end up several feet from where it’s expected it could possibly go. You’ll need to carefully check your cloths, and the whole interior of the car, including the top of the dash, and the package shelf.
I would have a local BODY SHOP remove the seats and center console for you…FORGET the dealer. You will find rubber plugs under the car in the location of the seat mounting tracks. 4 nuts for each seat. Remove the nuts and the seats just lift out, tracks and all. Disconnect any wiring connected to the seats…
Before doing anything drastic, take your best/strongest vacuum cleaner, stretch a piece of pantyhose or something similar over the end of the hose - apply over those holes. Check the pantyhose for a diamond (and other things like old dried up french fries). It might not do a thing. But it might be worth a shot.
cigroller’s idea is a good one. Just use a powerful shop vac with a crevice tool. Clean the vacuum before you begin, and when you are done, dump the contents on a sheet of white paper and carefully go through it. You can make hose-end crevice tools to get into hidden areas…
It most likely flew off in an unknown direction so looking for it as though it just dropped staight down is futile.
Look EVERYWHERE.
Use a small flashlight much like they do on c.s.i. to focus your attention in a specific area.
Check all the corners and edges of carpeting, methodically every inch.
Check the seat upholstery like down between the seat back and seat.
Check under the seat. The carpet cut-outs down there are notorious for “keeping the change”.
Just keep looking, I think it’s in there somewhere. ( worst case scenario ; it flew on to her clothing and the first time she got out of the car…ugh. )
Everyone’s covered just about every angle, but, even if you have good light, use a flashlight anyway. As the moving flashlight glints off the diamond, it will sparkle momentarily. Good luck to you.
Check your insurance. Car, home, renters, etc. This might be covered.
Diamonds are heavy for their size, so the idea that it took off and flew several feet is probably not realistic. You probably should consider removing the front seats, but certainly run them all the way forward and look everywhere next to the console, on which ever side she was on. Then run them all the way back and do the same. Use a really bright light. Take your time. It’s in there somewhere.
I think you need to tear apart seat before you pull it out, Look in everything before you add additional lost places for the gem. The diamond can be very hard to find but a small vac with a filter bag you can examine the contents might not be a bad idea, raw diamonds are not that expensive, sure it has sentimental value but how many carats are you talking about?
Sometimes it’s a surprisingly straight shot from the shifter to the ground, especially if this happens to be a manual transmission-- I’ve owned more than one car where the shifter boot wore out and you can see the pavement through it. So it could have worked it’s way through and fallen out of the bottom of the car (hopefully in your driveway), or it may also be somewhere that’s easier to reach from the bottom.
Edit: also before you spring the $400 for a optical scope, why not try a telescoping mirror (available at any auto parts store) and a flashlight?
Hey Cheapskate, it’s your wife’s diamond and you own a Jag. But, you know what they say, “Anybody can buy a Jaguar. Not everyone can afford to keep one”.
I understand where you are coming from, but please try and stay on topic, It could help someone with a 77 corolla.
If this was a high priced diamond, chances are it has some appraisal paperwork or documentation somewhere. Thorough appraisals include a fluorescence test.
Diamonds glow under UV light. Some very faintly, some so strongly it looks light they have a built in LED.
Buy a handheld UV lamp (not a wimpy UV LED penlight)of the type used to detect air conditioner refrigerant leaks. Darken the garage and wear a pair of yellow shooting glasses (which filter the reflected UV). The diamond will jump right out if it strongly fluoresces. Even if it weakly fluoresces, it will help you locate it.
How about a dog trained to sniff out hidden jewelry,perhaps one retired from Customs, they would probably work cheap. 
I’ve heard of drug-sniffing dogs, and explosive-sniffing dogs. There are even dogs to detect smuggled food items.
But, jewelry-sniffing dogs…? Are you sure that these exist?